Greek: Athenian Political and Social Culture Flashcards
“Pericles was the first man to provide payment for jury service, as a political measure to counter the generosity of Cimon”
Aristotle, Athenian Constitution chapter 27
How were citizens involved in the democratic process?
- Assembly (or Ekklesia): Met 40 times per year minimum. The “quorum” for a decision was 6,000 votes (15-30k thought to sit)
- Boule: council in charge of the military comprised of 500 men, 50 from each of the 10 Athenian tribes.
- Heliaea (later known as dikasteria): Created by Solon as a court of appeal against Areopagus, but Ephialtes made it the primary court of the state. 6000 jurors were needed each year and under Pericles wage was 2 obols (Cleon would raise this to 3). There was discrepancy between rich and poor, you had to act as your own lawyer
What are some critiques of the democratic system by contemporary authors?
- Xenophon: Memorabilia 3.7.6
“you are ashamed to address this audience of dunces and weaklings[…] these are the people who make up the Assembly” - Old Oligarch: 1.11
“because of the need for money there is no choice but to end up enslaved to the slaves” - Thucydides: 4.28
“the crowds behaved the way crowds normally do” - Aristophanes: Wasps 422
“The Hound of Cydathenaeum indicts Labes of Aexone for the crime of having eaten up the Sicilian cheese all by himself”
What is Dokimasia?
Bringing a charge against a public official before they began their term in office
What is Euthunai?
At the end of every term the official’s performance and accounts would be reviewed. Nicias would complain about this pressure in a report back from Sicily (according to Thucydides)
Old Oligarch 3.6
“It’s difficult to get everything done because of how busy the courts were”
How many jurors were there in the trial of Socrates and how many voted him innocent/guilty?
501 jurors, 280 voted him guilty and 221 voted him innocent
“the greatest glory of a woman is to be least talked about by men”
Pericles Funeral Oration, Thucydides, 1.46
